KARACHI: The rupee recovered Rs1.81 against the dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday. The US dollar settled at Rs286.62 from Rs288.43 on Tuesday, reported the State Bank of Pakistan. So far this month, the dollar traded in the range of Rs280-288 in the interbank market while it touched Rs295 in the open market. Currency dealers believe the market increased …

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday censured the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for leaking the whistle-blower’s identity to the tax-evading private company which allegedly committed financial irregularities. The president ordered the FBR to submit a report within 60 days and also explain why the board failed to fully utilise the information provided by the whistle-blower to recover the …

KARACHI: The index of representative shares on the Pakistan Stock Exchange mostly remained on the higher side on Wednesday amid expectations of a jump in foreign exchange reserves. Topline Securities said stocks rose following news reports stating that the country would likely receive an assurance for $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates by the end of this week. In …

• Around 100 plants paid Rs99bn in capacity payments in Oct-Dec despite most of them operating at below 20pc ISLAMABAD: With almost two-thirds of power plants operating at less than 20 per cent utilisation factor, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday notified ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (Discos) to charge 47 paise per unit to their consumers to mop …

Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Ltd on Thursday announced a 15-day extension to its longest plant shutdown this fiscal year, citing the country’s economic crisis, restrictions on opening letters of credit for imports, and halting foreign payments. The company announced an initial 23-day shutdown on March 8, which was expected to end on March 31. It then extended the shutdown to April 15. …

US radio broadcaster National Public Radio (NPR) on Wednesday said it was quitting Twitter, in the first significant defection by a major news outlet since Elon Musk’s tumultuous takeover of the platform. The exit caps a week-long row over Twitter’s decision to label NPR as a “state-affiliated media”, branding it the same way as it does major media outlets in authoritarian countries such as Russia or …

AMSTERDAM: Dutch police detained two protesters who ran towards French President Emmanuel Macron in Amsterdam on Wednesday as his domestic troubles intruded once again on his state visit. The dramatic arrests outside Amsterdam University came a day after demonstrators against Macron’s controversial pension reforms heckled him during a speech in The Hague. The pomp of the first state visit to …

LONDON: Prince Harry will attend the coronation in London of his father King Charles III but without his wife Meghan, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday. The announcement follows weeks of uncertainty over the presence of Harry and Meghan, who have launched a barrage of criticism of the British royal family since announcing they were quitting royal duties in early 2020. …

KOUROU (French Guiana): Could vast, long-hidden oceans be teeming with alien life in our very own Solar System? A new chapter in humanity’s search for extra-terrestrial life opens on Thursday as Europe’s JUICE spacecraft blasts off on a mission to investigate the icy moons of Jupiter. First discovered by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei more than 400 years ago, these ice-covered …

INDIA’S renowned art and cultural institution Kalakshetra has been embroiled over allegations of sexual harassment against a faculty member and three artists who work as substitute teachers at the prestigious dance academy, BBC reported on Wednesday. According to a report, police had arrested an assistant professor and an accomplished dancer Hari Padman last week after a former student lodged a complaint, accusing him …